WE Neighbourhood: Prince Edward, Hong Kong

I wander with my my head in the clouds every now and then. I bathe in this luxury to calm my frayed nerves whenever I feel the need to take a break. It felt safe to be supposedly out of touch. Out of touch with the routine you’ve laid out- Escaping the mundane and being drawn by spontaneity. Freedom from the known- It was right there.

I stood in this old man’s fish shop in Prince Edward. We systematically greeted each other and eventually he broke out of his routine, auto-pilot off and acknowledged a real interaction. He had been working at this shop from a young age and he too is longing for a break whilst explaining my fortunate position. Conformity and acceptance eventually consumes you I suppose and sometimes for the better. Evolving from an unwilling attitude, he has fallen in love with the fish. An act of selflessness can set you free. Viewing it in a different light, his source of happiness had become a selection of bagged and labeled opportunities to people in search of similar things. Offering a bag of life to enrich another. Desiring a new life to create something better out of it, distracting ourselves from our own and granting us a sense of control over some things.

Instant gratification came at a cheap price in a plastic bag.

It takes the right person in the right moment to leave a mark and thus maturing into a lifetime of memory.